Held from March 28 to April 2 this year, the World Halal Week is deemed an important platform for thought leadership, business matching, marketing and promotion as well as trade and investment within the halal sphere. It includes the Malaysia International Halal Showcase( MIHAS), World Halal Conference and International Halal Certification Bodies Convention.
The theme for this year’ s World Halal Week – Beyond the Economy – is very apt given current geopolitical developments. With more than 70 core countries embracing the halal economy, events such as this will provide opportunities for networking among the various stakeholders in the halal economy.
The World Halal Week 2016 started with the Seventh International Halal Certification Bodies Convention 2016 hosted by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia( JAKIM). Some 54 halal certification bodies from 32 countries and four halal authorities from Organisation of Islamic Cooperation( OIC) member countries attended the convention.
One of the resolutions agreed in the Convention is to have an International Halal Authority Board( IHAB) as an accreditation body. This body will be based in Malaysia under the collaboration between JAKIM and the Department of Standards Malaysia( DSM).
Another major programme is the Malaysia International Halal Showcase( MIHAS) which is currently in its 13 th consecutive year. It has now become the premier halal event and a game changer in the global halal arena, providing opportunity for the global business community to showcase halal products and services and network with each other.
The event was attended by 66 companies from ASEAN and 63 companies from OIC. In 2015, MIHAS generated a total sale of RM1.1 billion( US $ 280.5 million).
In conjunction with the World Halal Week, the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation( MATRADE) has successfully organised a pre-arranged business matching session called International Sourcing Programme( INSP) involving 391 foreign buyers from 40 countries and more than 600 Malaysia-registered companies.
The number of buyers was 27 % higher compared to last year and the preliminary sale recorded was close to RM480 million for various products and services including food and beverages as well as cosmetics. This represents an increase of 8 % over the sales recorded last year. Combined with MIHAS, INSP has proven to become an important annual meeting place for the international halal players.
The third major programme lined up during the World Halal Week is the flagship Ninth World Halal Conference 2016 organised by the Halal Industry Development Corporation( HDC). The two-day event was attended by about 1,200 delegates comprising government leaders, industry captains, regional experts and other stakeholders.
ISSUE 2: 2016 | ASEAN COMMUNITY OF ENTREPRENEURS
21